Mattress handle



Feb. 5, 1952 w -F CAgTER 2,584,842

MATTRESS HANDLE Filed June 24, 1946 Elma/mg Patented Feb. 5, 1952 UNITEDSTATS NT QFFICE MATTRESS HANDLE William F. Caster, West St. Paul, Minn.,assigner to Benjamin E. Siegel Application June 24, i946, Serial No.678,957

8 Claims. (Cl. 5-345) lViy invention relates to an improvement inmattress handle and deals more specically with turned, or properlypositioned on its spring.

These handles usually comprise straps or cords which overlie portions ofthe mattress border or side wall. The ends of the handle usually extendthrough the side wall of the mattress and are p attached to .anchoringplates 0r the like which contact the inner surface of the mattressborder. Because of the fact that mattresses are often quite heavy thelifting of the mattress by these handles places a considerable strain onthe mattress border or wall. In some instances the border has been tornthrough use of the handles and in other cases the handles have tornthrough the borders. Once the handle has been pulled out of the mat-.tress wall, it is extremely difficult to replace or repair withouttaking apart a portion of the mattress.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a mattress handlecomprising a cord, band, or strap overlying a, portion of the mattressborder and having its ends extend through the border. The ends of thehandle extend inwardly of the border and are anchored to the innerspring unit. As a result the strain upon the mattress handle istransmitted to the interior of the mattress and throughout the innerspring unit.

A feature of the present invention resides in anchoring the ends of amattress handle to a bar of steel or similar material, which in turn isconnected to the inner spring unit of the mattress.

Thus when the mattress is lifted the weight'of 75 the mattress issupported by the inner spring unit rather than by a small area of theborder.

A feature of the present invention lies in the manner in which the rodto which the handle ends are secured is attached within the mattress. f*

The bar extends from the bottom of the inner spring unit to the topthereof, but is inclined in such-a manner as to permit the mattress toiiex freely.

A further feature of the present-l invention lies in the provision of amattress handle anchor bar structure which acts as a stabilizer for themattress. There are usually two mattress handles connected to each sideof the mattress. Accordingly I provide two spaced stabilizer bars whichare inclined preferably in opposite directions. These bars are soconnected as to compress with the inner spring unit in such a manner asto provide a stabilizing action for the mattress,

I of a mattress showing my handles attached there- Figure 2 is avertical sectional View through the mattress immediately inside themattress border.

Figure 3 is a horizontal section through the mattress border showing themanner in which my handle is connected to the inner spring unit.

Figure 4 is a horizontal section through the mattress wall showing themanner in which a modied form of handle is connected to the inner springunit.

Figure 5 is a perspective View of the anchoring end of the handle shownin Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the handle end of the handle shown inFigures 1 and 3.

The mattress A may be of any suitable design or type and is preferablyprovided with an inner spring unit. Two opposite sides of the border orside wall Ill of the mattress are provided with vmattressis likewiseprovided with a bottom covering Ill, a bottom inner spring unit coveringI5, and

padding l5 therebetween. Obviously the mattress is reversible so thatthe coveringv I 4 may comprise the top covering in use.

The inner spring unit of the mattress is indicated in general by thenumeral I'I. This inner spring unitcomprises a series of vertically eX-tending coil springs I9 arranged in parallel relationship and securedtogether in any suitable way. In actual practice the coil springs I9 areoften of largest diameter at their ends and taper to a smaller diameterin the center. Various means have been provided for holding the coilsprings together, one such means comprising small spiral springs whichflexibly connect adjacent ends of adjoining springs. This permitsconsiderable iiexibility between adjacent springs, while at the sametime holding them in proper relationship.

The inner spring unit I'I is provided with its rectangular frame 20 atthe top of the coil springs I9 and a similar rectangular frame 2lencircling the lower ends of the coil springs I9. The frames 20 and 2lare usually provided with spiral springs Wound about the same to providea means of connecting the marginal coil springs I9 thereto. Thus theupper rectangular frame 20 is provided with a spiral spring 22encircling the same and the lower frame 2| is provided with a similarspiral spring 23 encircling the same. These springs 22 and 23 usuallyextend entirely about the periphery of the inner spring unit.

The foregoing structure is conventional in certain high grade types ofmattresses. The structure, however, has been described in order that myinvention can be better understood. The springs 22 and 23 provide aconvenient means of attaching the anchor bar of my mattress handle tothe inner spring unit, and I prefer to employ such springs so as toexibly connect the anchor bars in place.

The mattress handle anchor bars 24 extend between the upper rectangularframe 20 and the lower rectangular frame 2| as best illustrated inFigures l and 2 of the drawings. Each anchor bar 24 is provided withhorizontally extending ends 25 and 26 which are designed to extendparallel to and adjacent one side of the frame members 20 and 2|. Eachanchor bar is likewise provided with a central` portion 21 which issubstantially parallel to the ends 25 and 26. An inclined portion 29connects the end 25 to the central portion 21 and a similar inclinedportion 30 connects the center portion 2'! to the end 26. The ends 25and 26 of the anchor bar are threaded into the spiral springs 22 and 23and are flexibly held in place thereby.

As indicated in Figure 3 of the drawings the frame members 20 and 2| arespaced a short distance from the border or side wall l of the mattressto permit a certain amount of inward exing of this side wall I0. In theside wall |0 in opposed relation to the ends of the center portions 21of the anchor bars 24, I provide a pair of spaced grommets 3| and 32.The handle B is usually formed of a exible cord or strap and includes anintermediate portion 34 designed to overlie the outer surface of theborder I0. The ends 35 and 36 of the handle B extend through thegrommets 3i and 32 and are anchored in clips 31. The clips 31, as bestillustrated in Figure 6, include a tubular body portion 39 and aprojecting end 40 comprising substantially a semi-cylindrical shell. Anaperture 4| is provided in the projecting end 40, this aperture being ofsufcient size to accommodate the anchor bar 24. The anchor bar extendsthrough the apertures 4|! of the clips 31 so as to stretch theintermediate portion 34 of the handle tautly over the outer surface ofthe mattress border as illustrated in Figure 3.

The ends of the handle B may be anchored within the tubular body 39 ofthe clips 31 in any suitable way. For example, one or more arms 42 maybe bent inwardly into the body of the handle to anchor the clips to thehandle end.

In operation the hands are inserted between the handle portions 34 andthe mattress side wall l0, thus bowing in the side wall of the mattress.A pull exerted on the handle B then exerts strain directly upon theanchor bar 24 which is connected to the inner spring unit. As a resultthe lifting strain upon the handles is borne virtually entirely by theinner spring unit. Little or no strain is exerted upon the mattresswall, tending to tear or distort the same.

In Figures 4 and 5 of the drawings I disclose a modified form of handlewhich may be used in place of the handle B. In this form of construct1onthe mattress, inner spring unit, and anchor bar 24 are identical to thatpreviously discussed, and accordingly similar numbers have been used toindicate identical parts. The handle C is provided with a body portion43 which overlies the outer surface of the mattress wall and ends 44 and45 of the handle extend through the grommets 3| and 32, respectively. Inthis form of construction the ends of the handle loop about the anchorbar 24, as best illustrated in Figure 5 of the drawings. The ends of thehandle are held connected in loop formation by a ring 46 which isinserted in spread condition and pinched or clamped together so as totightly encircle the two thicknesses of the handle ends 44 and 45 tohold the loop closed.

The handle C has the advantage over the handle B that the handle may beinserted in place after the anchor bar has been attached to the innerspring unit. However, the handle ends are somewhat more diflicult toattach than with the handle B. The handle B has the advantage of easterattachment to the anchor bar, although with such a construction thehandle ends must be anchored in place before the anchor bar is attachedto the inner spring unit.

It will be noted in Figure 1 of the drawings that the reinforcing bars24 are arranged to incline in opposite directions from the center ofthemattress wall |0. In other words, the ends of the reinforcing bars maybe attached to the lower frame member 2| at points relatively close tothe center of the mattress side Wall and the upper ends of thesereinforcing bars are attached to the upper frame member 20 at pointsrelatively remote from the center of the side wall. Thus the reinforcingbars 24 have a tendency to stabilize the inner spring unit and cause thesprings to compress vertically. This stabilizing action increases thelife of the inner spring unit by holding the frame members |5 and |8substantially vertically aligned, thus insuring Vertical compression ofthe individual springs I9.

In accordance with the patent statutes, I have described the principlesof construction and oper' ation of my mattress handle, and while I haveendeavored Vto set forth the best embodiments thereof,I desire to haveit understood that obvious changes may be made Within the scope of thefollowing claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. A handle for a mattress having an inner spring unit and an encirclingborder, the handle comprising a member designed to overlie a por'-J tionof the outer surface of the border, ends on said member extendingthrough the mattress border, a bar to which the ends of the handlemember are secured, said bar lying in a plane substantially parallel tosaid portion of the born der, and means securing said bar to the edge ofthe inner spring unit.

2. A mattress handle for use in conjunction with a mattress having ininner spring unit and an encircling border, the handle including ahandle body designed to overlie a portion of the outer surface of theborder, ends on said handle member extending through the border, a barto which the ends of the handle member are secured, said bar beingsupported on a plane parallel to said portion of the border, and meanssecuring one end of said bar to the edge of the upper portion of theinner spring unit and the other end of said bar to the edge of the lowerportion of said inner spring unit.

3. A mattress handle for use in conjunction with a mattress having aninner spring unit provided with an upper and lower frame, and anencircling border, the handle including a body portion designed tooverlie a portion of the outer surface of the mattress border, ends onsaid handle body extending through said border, al

bar within said mattress to which the ends of said handle body aresecured, said bar being supported on a plane parallel to said portion ofthe border, and means securing one end of said bar to the upper frame ofsaid inner spring unit, and means securing the lower end of said bar tothe lower frame on said inner spring unit.

4. A handle for mattresses having an inner spring unit provided withupper and lower frames, and a border encircling the mattress, the handleincluding a body member designed to overlie a portion of the outersurface of said border, ends on said body member extending through saidborder, a bar within said mattress to which the ends of said handle areanchored, said bar being supported on a plane parallel to said portionof the border, means for securing one end of said bar to the lower frameof the inner spring unit, and means securing the other end of said barto the upper frame of said inner spring unit at a point substantiallyoff-set from the lower end of said bar.

5. A mattress including an inner spring unit having upper and lowerframes thereupon, and stabilizing members connecting said upper andlower substantially rectangular frames, said stabilizing membersincluding bar means connected to substantially parallel sides of saidupper and lower frame members, said bar means being arranged on verticalplanes extending through vertically spaced sides of said frame members,the connection of said bar with the lower frame member beingsubstantially olf-set from the connection of the other end of the bar tothe upper frame member, two such stabilizing members being provided oneach side of the inner spring unit, and the ends of the two barsconnected to one frame member being relatively close together and theends of said bars connected to the other frame member being relativelyfar apart.

6. A mattress handle for use on a mattress having an inner spring unitand an encircling border, a pair of spaced grommets in said border, saidhandle including a body portion designed to overlie the outer surface ofthe mattress border between said grommets, ends on said body portionextending through said grommets, a bar within said mattress to which theends of said body portion are attached, said bar lying in a placesubstantially parallel to the adjacent portion of said border, and meansattaching said bar to the edge of the inner spring unit.

7. A mattress handle for use in combination with a mattress having aninner spring unit and an encircling border, the handle including a bodyportion designed to overlie a portion of the outer surface of saidborder, ends on said body portion extending through said border, a barinteriorly of said border, the ends of said body portion being loopedabout said bar and anchored thereto, said bar lying in a planesubstantially parallel to said portion of the border, and means securingsaid bar to the edge of the inner spring unit of the mattress.

8. A mattress handle for use in combination with a mattress and an innerspring unit and an encircling border, the handle including a bodydesigned to overlie a portion of the outer surface of said border, endson said body extending through said border, clips anchored to the endsof said handle body, apertures in said clips, and a reinforcing barwithin the mattress extending through said apertures. said bar lying ina plane substantially parallel to said portion of the border.

WILLIAM F. CASTER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,198,074 Sines Sept. 12, 19161,650,295 Patten Nov. 22, 1927 2,021,238 Karr Nov. 1 9, 1935 2,194,407Rolstone Mar. 19, 1940 2,274,027 Allen Feb. 24, 1942 2,322,995 AllenJune 29, 1943

